Mirror, Mirror
by dogbertcarroll
Summary: YAHF Xander gets a free costume from Ethan, but on reflection while it cost quite a bit, it was definitely worth it.
1. Chapter 1

**Mirror Mirror**

**Disclaimer: I own no intellectual property belonging to Joss Whedon or DC comics.**

Ethan sighed. It was so hard to get kids to dress as proper villains with the ridiculous costumes villains wore. Mirror Master for instance had a simple orange bodysuit with an oddly shaped green mask that covered everything but his eyes and mouth. Sure the mirror gun looked good, but if the mask was red you could mistake his head for a fire plug.

Seeing Xander eyeing the dollar bin, Ethan grinned. There was at least one sucker he could unload an unfashionable costume on as he was almost certainly colorblind considering the way he dressed.

*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*

Xander clutched his head in pain falling to his knees as several large egos, with associated identities, poured into his head and came into conflict with each other.

The being that rose to his feet a few moments later wasn't sure of many things, like what name he was born with, but he knew two things for sure, he was The Mirror Master and The Flash was going to pay! Because he felt inspired! In fact… there were quite a few ways to use what he knew that had never occurred to him before, like using a special coating on his fingernails so a simple tap could activate or deactivate a mirror without an obvious tools that could be taken from him. All he had to do was mix the right chemicals in with some nail polish and he'd be set.

Mirror master shot the side of a building with his side arm, the silvery beam forming a circular mirror on the second story above a large dumpster, before he continued on.

Scarce five minutes later the mirror ejected a wolfman who landed in the empty dumpster with a thud, and was quickly joined by a variety of characters as the night progressed, leaving a pile of unconscious figures when the spell ended.

*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*

Spike enjoyed a night in with Drusilla.

When your personal seer starts quoting Lewis Carrol it's best to remain behind stout doors.

*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*

Xander's head hurt, it felt like an overinflated balloon that was pounding in time with his pulse, which wasn't too far from the truth as he'd had the complete life history of several supervillains jammed into it. Lying on the huge pile of cash dressed in an orange outfit with a green hood, he wished he'd been smart enough to steal some asprin as well.

"Is everyone OK? Were there any aftereffects?" Giles asked, after explaining the cause of last night's events, which he'd learned about in a letter from Ethan slipped under the library door.

"I think I aced my French final," Buffy offered.

"I'm back to normal," Willow offered. "But I can't find Xander. He's not at school and calling his home is worthless."

"I'm here!" Xander called out, before Willow could really get going.

"Xander?" Willow spun around and scanned the area but couldn't find him.

"In the mirror, Wills," he replied.

"What are you-," Willow fell silent looking from the now full length mirror that was on the wall that showed the room and Xander but no one else and looked back to the table in confusion.

"And where did you get all the money?" Buffy asked in shock.

"I believe the villains known who took the name Mirror Master decided to rob a bank," Xander replied. "Anyone got any asprin?"

"Are you OK in there?" Giles asked as he peered into the mirror that showed Xander sprawled out on the table they were sitting around.

"My head is killing me, but I seem to be back to normal," Xander replied.

"You are lying on a huge pile of stolen money inside a mirror," Buffy said carefully.

"Mirror Master here," Xander replied standing up and rubbing his temples. "If I had been myself, I wouldn't have robbed a bank, which is pathetically easy with the powers I have now."

"Powers?" Giles asked before staring in shock as Xander stepped out of the mirror.

"And a headache you wouldn't believe," Xander agreed as Willow checked him for injuries.

"So what would you rob?" Buffy asked.

"Huh?" Xander asked confused.

"You said you wouldn't rob a bank because it's pathetically easy," Buffy reminded him.

"No, I said I wouldn't have robbed a bank and that it was pathetically easy," Xander said. "They are two different things."

"Oh," Buffy said.

"You have a bit of a Scottish accent," Giles noted.

"One of them was a Scottish mercenary with a really screwed up past," Xander said.

"How screwed up?" Willow asked.

"An orphan searching for his parents who becomes a hitman so he can afford to get the records. Naturally he gets to his mother's house just in time to witness her killing herself because her husband had died the week before," Xander explained.

"His father was the first man he killed?" Buffy guessed.

"Bingo!" Xander replied.

"That's horrible," Willow said.

"It certainly warped his sense of humor," Xander said shaking his head. "But then I think all comic book villains are nuts."

"So you're still you?" Willow asked.

"Yes, but with a lot more knowledge, most of which unfortunately involves attempts to kill The Flash. The entire group of them reminds me of Wile E. Coyote. Anyway, I could use some asprin."

"I'll get some," Giles said heading for his office.

Buffy poked the mirror, but couldn't find anything unusual about it besides what it showed.

"No urge to be a bad guy?" Willow asked just to be sure.

"I said I gained knowledge, not I lost wisdom," Xander said. "If I was in a world with Wally West I may have had a problem resisting the urge to screw with him, but lacking The Flash, I'm fine."

"So what can you do?" Buffy asked.

"Mirrors, holograms, lasers and some stuff involving cryogenics," Xander listed off.

"Wow," Willow said impressed and a little worried he wouldn't need her and a tad jealous of his new knowledge.

"So the whole stepping into mirrors deal?" Buffy asked as Giles came out and handed Xander a glass of water and some asprin.

Xander took the asprin and returned the empty glass. "Thanks Giles. There are as many mirror universes as there are reflections, so the place I step into is one of my choosing. The reflection I was resting in for instance is a reversed duplicate of Sunnydale where I could watch the normal Sunnydale through any mirror I chose."

"What about people and vampires?" Willow asked. "Aren't they duplicated too?"

"Vampires don't cast reflections," Xander replied. "And I, or rather they, chose a Sunnydale devoid of people and animals."

***WHAM***

An angry Cordelia Chase stormed into the library. "Which one of you freaks was responsible for last night!" she demanded.

"Just what I needed, a screeching whore," Xander said bluntly with a British accent.

"What?!" How dare you-" Cordelia began when Xander drew a futuristic gun with a rectangular mirror in place of a muzzle that he shot a beam of silvery energy into the floor at her feet, forming a mirror puddle underneath her that she vanished into just before it evaporated.

"What did you do?!" Buffy demanded.

"I'm rich!" came Cordelia's voice from inside the mirror, as she picked up handfuls of cash from the table. "I mean rich twice!"

Xander stuck his head in the mirror as if it were a window. "I'm rich, and get your hands off my money or I'm going to leave you in there." Pulling his head out he tapped the mirror and the surface rippled changing into a normal mirror view. "Sorry, but I am not willing to put up with her until my headache is gone."

"You can't just go zapping people into alternate dimensions," Buffy complained. "And what do you mean 'you're rich'? You're returning that money to the bank mister!"

"One, apparently I can zap people into alternate dimensions as you just saw me do it, although I would hardly consider Cordelia people, and two, I am not willing to run around robbing banks, but that doesn't mean I am willing to risk my freedom and future un-robbing one, nor am I willing to ignore a windfall of this nature and magnitude just because it clashes with your middle-class morals," Xander swore.

"Your Scottish accent became very strong as you got rolling," Giles noted.

"The Scottish guy grew up in an orphanage and had to take a job as a hitman to afford to find out who his parents were," Xander reminded him. "Money means not having to kill your own father. I can keep myself from running around in a costume robbing banks, in part because I have a huge pile of money to quiet those voices."

"It's still wrong!" Buffy said resolutely.

"And have you turned yourself in for killing Amy's mom in self-defense?" Xander asked. "I seem to recall you using a mirror to commit that particular crime and while it's probably justified, morally you should turn yourself in. I at least have the excuse of being possessed and forced against my will. Besides, my crime is covered by insurance, so don't pretend I'm hurting some little old lady by not letting myself be locked up with murderers and rapists for the next twenty years!" Xander vanished into the mirror leaving them staring at their own reflections.

"That could have gone better," Willow said.

"I was right, wasn't I?" Buffy said.

"Yes and no," Giles said. "We operate in a bit of a grey area, ignoring laws to save lives and while robbing banks is clearly wrong, asking him to risk his own freedom to save an insurance company a few pounds isn't exactly the right thing to do either. There is also the fact that having that pile seems to help Xander keep in control over himself after what he's been through. Multiple possessions are no laughing matter."

"What do you mean?" Willow asked, worried for Xander.

"The human mind is very resilient, especially when young, however it can also be quite fragile. This isn't the first time he's been possessed and while probably not as traumatizing as having an animal control him, he did say that there were multiple Mirror Masters, which is yet another thing to be concerned about. Frankly I'm shocked he's doing so well." Giles turned to them. "Really it all comes down to which is more important to you, the law and being right, or your friend."

"I love easy answers," Buffy said relieved. "Thanks, Giles."

"It's what I'm here for," he assured her.

"Is there any way to fix, Xander?" Willow asked. "I mean we exorcised the hyena, is there anything similar for what he went through last night?"

"Nothing springs to mind," Giles replied. "Chaos enhanced spells never have the same effect twice, so no one method works on cleaning up the aftermath."

"They don't have a spell to remove all the foreign stuff he was stuffed with?" Willow asked.

"Oh, yes that exists," Giles agreed, "but casting that on Xander would be foolish in the extreme. It'd be like sandblasting a window to remove the streaks left by glass cleaner. Traumatic doesn't even begin to cover it."

"Let's call that plan Z," Buffy said. "In the meantime, let's see if there are any books on window cleaning."

"Research?" Willow asked hopefully.

"Research," Buffy confirmed.

*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*

Xander sighed as he saw his rumpled former bedding and Cordelia trying to look innocent. "Do I have to check your purse?"

"Fine," Cordelia huffed opening her purse and tossing out stacks of hundreds.

"You've also stuffed your bra, your breasts aren't normally that size," Xander pointed out.

"Promise not to frisk me and I'll ignore whatever disaster you losers caused last night," Cordelia promised leaning forward a little to tease him with her cleavage.

"Fine," he agreed, cursing his libido. "But seriously, I'd rather you took jewels rather than cash."

"You robbed a jewelry store?" Cordelia asked in surprise.

"No, but unstuff your bra and I'll show you what I mean," Xander said. "In fact, if you aren't satisfied I promise to personally stuff your bra until it can hold no more."

"Deal," she agreed and started pulling handfuls of cash out of her clothing.

Xander watched amazed at the amount of money she'd managed to hide on her person.

"OK, so show me what you think will satisfy me," she said with a smirk.

Xander slapped himself in the face so he could focus. "Fine, follow me."

"Where are we going?" she asked unmoving. "Come to think of it, where are we?"

"We are inside a reflection of Sunnydale," Xander told her as they stepped outside the library, revealing a world devoid of animal life.

"I-I-How?" she asked.

"Everyone turned into their costume during Halloween, no it wasn't our fault, and no we had no idea it was going to happened. Anyway, I dressed as a comic book supervillain whose abilities are mirror based, thus all of this."

Cordelia lead him to her car. "We can take my car or its reflection I guess, to wherever you're taking me."

"Your key won't work, everything's switched from left to right,' he told her. "We'll have to walk."

Cordelia put her keys back in her purse and pulled a hide a key magnetic box from under front fender. "This won't affect my car will it?"

"Nah," Xander waved it off. "It won't even move with the reflection."

"This feels so weird," Cordelia said sliding behind the wheel on the right hand side.

Xander buckled his seatbelt. "Just pretend it's the British version of your car."

"What side of the road do I drive on?" she asked as she started up her car.

"No traffic cops," Xander replied. Drive in the middle or on the sidewalks if you want."

"Really," Cordelia asked immediately.

"Yeah," Xander agreed. "The streets are clear."

Cordelia revved the engine and undid a couple of buttons on her shirt, a grin that reminded him of the hyena appearing on her face.

"Oh shit," Xander said as Cordelia Chase floored it and left a cloud of burned rubber in their wake. What followed was quite possibly the scariest car ride he'd ever been in, and that included when his father drove while drunk off his ass.

"Woo hoo!" Cordelia yelled as she took a turn on two wheels while unhooking her bra with one hand and removing it, tossing it into the back seat a few missed bills floating through the air.

"What the hell?" Xander demanded wide eyed as Cordelia did a 360o spin into a parking space right in front of the police station accidentally taking out a no parking sign.

"We have an entire Sunnydale we can play with and not worry about the consequences," Cordelia said excitedly, and Xander could tell she was excited because she wasn't wearing a bra.

"I-I can't believe I didn't think of that," Xander said, realizing the more mature, even if their sanity was debatable, villains he'd shared headspace with had affected him more than he thought.

"Did you know the police have an armored vehicle kinda like a tank crossed with an SUV?" Cordelia said with a grin.

"Where do you think they keep the key for it?" Xander asked with a matching grin.

*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*

"It's almost lunch, where do you think he is?" Buffy asked.

"I don't know," Willow admitted. "He was really mad, but I don't think the skating rink is open during school hours and the bowling alley would probably kick him out."

"I didn't know he liked bowling or skating," Buffy said.

"We used to go all the time," Willow said. "Xander they loved the nachos they served at both places and its fun."

"Cordelia hasn't been to class either," Buffy observed.

"Maybe we got lucky and the Hellmouth swallowed her," Willow said hopefully.

*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*

"Stand up straight Cordelia," she growled as she crushed Ferrari beneath the treads of the armored vehicle she was driving.

"Behave properly," Xander said with a grin as she reduced yet another expensive car to scrap metal.

"Don't yell, don't run, don't laugh," she quoted as she backed over a red sports car of some type.

"Don't have fun," Xander added.

"Be a good little girl," Cordelia said bitterly. "Chases don't have flaws, they have character traits."

"Xander laughed as Cordelia worked out some of her issues on her father's car collection.. "Don't kiss that Harris boy, he's beneath us," Xander said pompously, thinking he'd get a laugh from her.

Cordelia slammed on the breaks and pulled Xander to her. When she released him he blinked a couple of times and said, "Don't have sex with that Harris boy!"

Cordelia grinned and put a hand on the back of Xander's head. "Don't go down on that Chase girl!" she ordered, pushing his head down.

*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*

"She probably got upset and cut school to go shopping," Willow decided. "She's done it before."

"And Xander went to cool off," Buffy agreed. "Or simply fell asleep in the mirror on a huge pile of money."

"I wonder what that feels like," Willow said. "I mean, in all the stories dragons sleep on huge piles of gold, which is kinda similar."

"We'll arrange a sleepover after I've apologized," Buffy offered.

"It'll be nice to get everything back to normal," Willow said with a smile.

**Typing by: The Last Primarch!**


	2. Chapter 2

"When did Harris develop fashion sense?" Harmony asked in shock on spotting Xander in the hall dressed nicely.

"Since I got tired of having my retinas scarred and explained things to him," Cordelia replied as she gathered her schoolbooks.

Aura raised an eyebrow. "European cut, you can tell from the way they reversed the fold. Even if he's a loser, he's a well-dressed loser and my retinas thank you."

Aphrodesia chuckled. "A man who makes something of himself is much more impressive than a man who is made something of."

"I can't tell if that's a complement or an insult," Harmony said after a minute.

"If he improves himself it's a complement, if he goes back to assaulting our fashion sense it's an insult," Aphrodesia explained.

"Works for me," Aura said.

"Did you borrow my earrings?" Harmony asked as she saw the expensive princess cut sapphires Cordelia was wearing.

"You never loan those out," reminded her. "But I described them to my grandmother so she got me a pair to match."

"Don't they cost somewhere around thirty grand?" Aura asked.

"Thirty seven," Harmony replied. "Flawless sapphires of that size and rarity have increased in value this year."

"And they took forever to find," Cordelia said. "Well worth it though. You have excellent taste in earrings."

"Thanks," Harmony said.

"What is with the new clothes?" Buffy asked Xander, far enough away to not hear the Cordettes talking.

"Cordy gave me some advice and fashion is one area, which I'll admit she had a superior grasp on," Xander replied. "Since I can buy my own clothes, I figured I might as well take some pride in my appearance."

The bell rang and Xander hurried to the door.

Buffy shook Willow who was staring at the departing Xander with a hint of drool. "Wakey, wakey, time for class."

"Class?" Willow blinked recovering.

*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*

"You are very different on this side of the mirror," Xander noted, as Cordelia sat on the table and ate her yogurt with a sunny smile on her face.

"No one's watching me here," Cordelia said. "There aren't dozens of people analyzing my every move and reporting back to my parents." She belched loudly.

Xander laughed. "I doubt it's actually that bad."

"Well it sure feels like it sometimes and I'm not the only one who's different here," she pointed out.

"Actually you are," Xander replied. "I'm different because I've had the life and times of several people crammed into my head, not because of the side of the mirror I'm on."

"Are you telling me the fact that you can just walk around time on this side of the mirror, buck naked and piss on Snyder's desk before setting fire to his car with no repercussions, has no effect on you?" Cordelia demanded.

Xander thought about that. "You make a compelling argument."

"I've never felt as free as I do when I'm here," Cordelia said unbuttoning her shirt.

"I do get that impression," Xander agreed with a lustful grin while unbuttoning his own.

It took less than a minute for the two to strip completely and Xander blessed his teenage endurance.

"To Snyder's desk!" Cordelia swore, downing her soda and bouncing off.

*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*

"Why do you smell like…arson?" Willow guessed as Xander slid into the seat next to her at the Bronze.

" Arson has a smell?" he asked.

"I smell gasoline and burnt plastics," Buffy agreed.

"Well as it turns out, Hollywood lied to me, it actually takes quite a bit of effort and a few gallons of gasoline sprinkled liberally to torch a car."

The girls stared at him wide eyed.

"Snyder's car," he explained.

"That's a relief- I mean, bad, Xander," Buffy said lamely obviously conflicted.

"The mirror version," Xander added.

"Good Xander," Buffy said. "But bad for not inviting me."

"I had to take off all my clothes to avoid getting gasoline on myself," he said.

"So naked chanting and dancing around a burning car?" Buffy asked with a grin.

"I may also have shaken a makeshift torch in the air," Xander agreed.

"Who smells like arson?" a guy Xander didn't know asked as he walked up.

"OK, I'm off to shower and change," Xander said. "Scorched rubber is just not my scent."

"Ford?" Buffy asked in surprise.

"Buffy!" he greeted her cheerfully.

"What are you doing here?"

"I transferred in," he said cheerfully. "The 'rents move and I have to follow. What's with your friend?"

Buffy looked over and saw that Willow's eyes were glazed over and there was a touch of drool.

"Naked Xander," Willow said softly.

"Looks like she blew a lobe," Buffy said with a snicker.

*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*

*The Next Day*

"Eventually the Cordettes are going to wonder where you vanish to during lunch," Xander warned.

"And your friends won't?"

"They know where I go, just not who with," he replied. "Willow has been asking to come."

"Bring her," Cordelia replied unconcerned as she lay naked on a deck chair in the middle of the intersection, a school bus buried in a nearby store that she'd driven halfway through.

Xander relaxed on an identical chair sipping a pina colada. "You won't object?"

"Why would I object?" Cordelia asked surprised.

"You do like to just let it all hang out here," he pointed out.

"She's seen me naked plenty of times, we share a locker room," Cordelia said easily.

"Point," Xander said as the pair tanned. "And it's not like you have to worry about her spreading rumors."

"The stuff we do here is so unbelievable any rumors will come off as sounding completely fake and Willow isn't exactly a huge gossip, besides that girl could use some unwinding."

"She has seemed especially tense lately," Xander agreed.

"Police car race back to school?"

"You're on!"

*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*

"Why are we going to the Sunset Club?" Xander asked.

"Because Buffy's old friend Ford lied about a lot of things," Angel explained. "You aren't going to say I'm jealous are you?"

Xander shrugged. "You're clearly jealous, but that doesn't mean you're wrong. There's enough smoke from what you two are saying to start looking for a fire. Just because Mr. Fairlane is human doesn't mean he's innocent."

Angel sighed and nodded. "Well, as long as we're on the same page here."

As soon as they entered the Sunset Club, a fallout shelter turned night club, they knew Ford couldn't be trusted.

"A vampire themed club, joy," Xander deadpanned. "You know how much I enjoy and approve of the undead."

"No offense meant," Willow quickly told Angel.

"None taken," Angel told her.

"Pity," Xander said. While he didn't harp on the subject anymore or refer to Angel as Deadboy, his opinion on the subject had definitely not changed.

"They're just frightened children telling stories about the dark." Angel snorted in disdain.

"The dark's scary," Willow said. "Sometimes a story helps."

"Not when it'll get them killed," Angel said.

"He's right," Xander said. "This place is an abomination, just look at how they're dressed."

A man dressed exactly like Angel paused and gave Angel an approving nod before continuing on.

"I can't even agree with you without insulting you in some manner," Xander said shaking his head. "I blame karma."

Angel coughed to cover a laugh, while Xander was if anything, even more adamant in his views, he was much less annoying about them and had developed a dry humor that Angel could appreciate.

"I think we've seen enough," Xander said, taking Willow's hand and leading her out.

"You're right," Angel agreed following along before the 'locals' could introduce themselves.

"We have to tell Buffy," Willow said, smiling despite the situation as Xander kept hold of her hand.

*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*

"You guys were checking up on me?" Buffy demanded.

"We're friends, we smell a rat, we look for a rat," Xander replied with a shrug.

"Jealous-," Buffy began when Xander interrupted her, "doesn't change facts." He decided to deflate her ego a bit, just like he used to do with Cordelia before discovering she just had an ironic sense of humor and a sarcasm knob that went to eleven. "Willow was there because she cares, I was there because they wanted an objective witness and drug me along. It's possible Angel was jealous, but since I didn't see you mounting Ford in public for daring to save your life I don't see why he would be."

"I apologized for that!" Buffy groaned.

"Yes, and I accepted that apology, but that doesn't mean I forgot the incident itself and you throwing around accusations of jealousy, as if you are the hottest thing since sliced bread, will have me throwing it in your face as a reminder of the moment any possible attraction for you died."

"What?" Buffy asked shocked.

"I do not want to have sex with you," Xander said. "I don't think I can be more blunt. Ask Angel, he can tell you I'm being honest."

Angel nodded when she looked to him for confirmation.

"Of the three of us, only Angel wants to plow you," Xander said. "But even if he is jealous that doesn't change the fact that we all look out for one another and Ford is of the rodent family."

"Oh," Buffy said, realizing she'd overreacted.

"I got the files you wanted," Jenny Calendar said as she entered the library. "And you're right, Ford…" she trailed off as she saw everyone. "Oops."

"A watcher looks out for his slayer," Giles said firmly, as the Scoobs turned to look at him.

The teens burst out laughing.

"Did I miss something?" Jenny asked.

"Just being reminded I have friends and that we look out for one another," Buffy said.

"Everyone who tries to date one of us is someone to be suspicious of," Xander said. "Name one who didn't turn out to have enough baggage for a yearlong trip."

"Huh," Buffy and Willow chorused before turning to look at Miss Calendar.

"Well Miss Calendar," Xander raised an eyebrow and tried to keep a straight face, "if that is your real name!"

"Her heartbeat just jumped," Angel said freezing everyone in place.

"Jenny Calendar is the Americanized form of my name, in my native language it's Janna," she offered, hoping a bit of the truth would throw them off the scent.

"Is that the entire story?" Giles asked, a little hurt she hadn't shared that with him before.

"No, but it's family related and has nothing to do with you or Buffy," she assured him. "No opening the Hellmouth or killing people, more the opposite, but I've made vows not to reveal anything so please don't ask."

"OK," Buffy agreed, after looking to Angel for confirmation.

"OK?" Jenny asked surprised.

"Yeah," Buffy agreed. "We all have secrets. When it becomes life or death, let me know, OK?"

"When?" Jenny replied.

"It's always 'when' not 'if' on the Hellmouth," Buffy said. "So start making preparations and when it's life or death, call."

"Are we good?" she asked Giles.

"A minute ago I would have said we were great, but good will do for now," Giles said.

"Gotta give a little to get a little," Xander said. "Start showing your hidden past before expecting the same of everyone else."

"Hidden past?" Jenny asked.

"Giles has a hidden past?" Willow asked.

Xander stepped into the full length mirror on the wall and vanished.

"Oh, yeah, that hidden past," Willow said, having forgotten about Giles' connection to Ethan.

"He had to quit calling me Deadboy," Angel said with a sigh. At Buffy's look he shrugged. "I could've called him Alice or maybe Rabbit."

**Typing by: The Last Primarch!**


	3. Chapter 3

Xander and Buffy placed several, three foot wide and five foot tall, mirrors inside the club on the walls, ignoring the complaints of a couple of the wannabe vampires. Xander tapped the mirrors, sending a ripple through them and they suddenly reflected just the surroundings, as if everyone in the club were vampires.

"Cool effect," one girl said, running her eyes up and down Xander.

Willow quickly stepped next to Xander and took his hand.

Xander, thanks to the additional memories he'd picked up, actually realized what was going on with the two girls and released Willow's hand only to put his arm around her. "Thanks," he told the vamp girl with a slight nod and a smile, so she could make a graceful withdrawal.

"W-would you like to dance?" Willow asked, her heart in her throat.

"I'd love to dance with you," he told her. "But not here. After we finish up here we will find a place that is more us." Willow liking him may have come out of left field, but he wasn't about to just reject a friend without giving them a fair shake, especially in public!

"Ok," Willow said, snuggling into his side, her heart pounding like she'd just run a race.

"And here's the main event," Xander said, as they watched Buffy confront Ford, who admitted he was part of a plan to exchange her so he could be turned because he was dying of cancer. He only listened with half an ear, because he was comforting Willow who found the entire situation heartbreaking. "Sometimes bad things happen," he told her. "It's how we deal with them that makes us good or bad."

Angel showed up with Giles, they'd both been waiting until the sun had set so they could help spring the trap, just in case Ford had some demonic accomplices on hand. Buffy managed to convince most of the crowd to leave with Angel's help, as they explained what a vampire was and that all they were was food to them. Ford and a dozen or so teens were all that was left when Buffy locked them inside to wait for Spike's arrival.

Well… them, Xander and Willow.

"What are you two doing here?" Ford demanded.

"Decided to stick around and watch you idiots get killed," Xander replied easily.

"We aren't going to die," a Goth kid argued. "We're going to become elevated!"

"No, you are going to die," Xander disagreed. "Remember the part where Buffy pointed out that the deal was only for Ford and everyone else was going to be food? Notice he never denied that?"

"What does it matter?" Ford asked as he collapsed at a table, realizing everything he'd done was for nothing, he was as good as dead.

"See?" Xander asked. "And don't think that even if you got to still be you, and not just a demon thinking it was you, that everything would be wine and roses. Freshly raised vampires are called fledges and can spend up to twenty years as one. Fledges are treated even worse than you guys are. Imagine being surrounded by jocks who not only beat you, but are allowed to sexually assault you whenever they like, for five times as long as high school lasts."

"Oh god!" The assorted Goth Kids and Emo Punks tried desperately to pry open the door in vain.

"So, now you want to live?" Xander asked. "I haven't even told you what being a minion is like or how few vampires actually become masters. And really, for immortals I've seen a lot of vampires die, often at my hands for that matter."

"Let us out!" the group demanded, pounding on the steel door in vain.

"So none of you want to be vampires anymore?" Xander asked.

"I just didn't want to be picked on anymore!" one of the guys squealed.

"Or forced to put up with vicious backstabbing bitches," one of the girls added.

"Fine, follow me," Xander said stepping into a mirror much to their shock.

Willow followed showing them it could be done, happy that their plan to 'scare straight' the remaining teens worked. The teens eagerly poured into the mirror after them.

"We-we're in the mirror," a Goth said in awe, as he examined a coke can with a reversed label.

"But, aren't we stuck here with the door locked?" another one asked.

"I used duct tape on the latch," Xander said pointing to a couple of rolls of tape on the bar. "Just pull and it'll open."

The guy who'd wanted to be 'elevated' almost timidly pulled on the door and it opened, causing cheers and tears of joy from the crowd who rushed outside.

"I've got one more thing to do, grab them before they wander off please," Xander told Willow.

"Hurry," she said, moving outside. "Don't go anywhere, Xander's the only one who knows how to get us out of her."

She found the group hadn't gone far, as they were all standing just a few feet outside the door looking around themselves nervously.

"Xander had to do something, don't go anywhere," Willow ordered.

"Where exactly are we?" asked one girl quietly.

"We're in a mirror," Willow said. "I don't know all the details, so wait for Xander."

"Can I change in my car?" one of the girls asked. "I really don't feel into the vamp scene anymore. I'm parked like, right there."

"Just don't wander off," Willow said.

"Me too," the 'elevated' guy agreed. "I don't have much to change into though."

"I can help with that," one of the girls said.

Shortly Willow had her back to the parking lot, as the group of teens were changing and altering their clothes with absolutely no modesty or restraint, and many had loads of outfits and accessories in their cars.

Xander stepped out of the club, spotted the red faced Willow and heard the teens discussing style and clothing. "Do I want to know?" he asked.

"They didn't want to be dressed like vamps anymore," Willow said, "so I said they could change."

"It's open season on any vehicles in the lot!" Xander called out to the half-dressed group. "Grab anything you like, it won't affect the original."

"Whoo!" they cheered and expanded their search for articles of clothing.

A girl dressed as a punk version of a female Cheshire Catgirl was the first to rejoin them. "How are all the cars still here?" she asked. "I know a lot of the people who fled drove here."

"I captured this reflection before everyone left," Xander explained.

"How?" a young man dressed as The Mad Hatter with The Crow makeup asked as he joined them, a female Dormouse in gothic Lolita dress holding his hand.

"Magic is the simple answer, which just means something not understood," Xander explained. "I suppose the best way to describe it is…I found a crack in the rules of reality, which I have since defined for my personal use."

"Magic it is," said a Queen of Hearts, who looked to be descended from a line of vampire hunters.

"Are those plastic or wooden?" Xander asked, as he saw the bandolier of stakes she was wearing.

"Wooden," she replied. "One, I prefer authentic costume accessories and two, plastic stakes are way more expensive."

"Holy Water?" Willow asked.

"Stopped by a Catholic church," Hellsing Hearts replied. "The sword is cheap plastic though. I just can't afford a real katana, much less a silver edged one."

"You guys may be a danger to yourself and others, flirting with demons and death, but damn if you aren't impressive when it comes to style," Xander said.

"We didn't know it was real," a male Cheshire, who was at least half dressed to play in the musical Cats, groaned. "It was all supposed to be make-believe."

"I was waiting for the punch line because I didn't believe it at first and then… well Linda was staying, so I couldn't just ditch her," the female Cheshire Punk explained before another person chimed in with a similar agreement, as did most of the others.

Abraham Lincoln the vampire hunter sighed. "I just wanted it to be true so bad, I didn't listen. The vamp fantasy was a lot better than my reality. But hey, Alice in Wonderland works too!"

Xander laughed. "I'm no Alice and as far as I know, I'm the only person who can open these doorways."

"So this is like a snapshot of the world in a mirror with no people?" Hellsing Hearts asked.

"Exactly," Xander agreed.

"It's so peaceful here," Mad Hatter Crow said. "No bullies or parents."

"No doctors or emergency services," Xander added. "Plus all the food has left handed enzymes rather than right, so you could starve to death with a full stomach."

"And whilst in the land of the fey, eat or drink nothing," a gothic Tinkerbell said.

"You can eat and drink, it just won't have any calories you can process for energy," Xander explained.

"So a meal or a snack is fine, you just can't live on it," Hellsing Hearts said.

"And money from here wouldn't spend at home because of the reversed everything," Cheshire Punk agreed.

"Except for the soda machine," Punk Tinkerbell pointed out.

"Does everyone remember the Bandersnatch?" Xander asked. The entire group nodded. "Has anyone read or seen Stephen King's The Langoliers?"

"Shit!" Hellsing Hearts cursed. "We gotta get outta here!"

*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*

Buffy watched while over a dozen teens climbed out of a mirror in the parking lot, got into their vehicles and drove off. "Glad that worked out," she told Angel.

"Xander is good at motivating people when he needs to be," Angel said, thinking about the night Buffy died.

"Yeah," Buffy agreed recalling his threat to kill her if Willow was hurt, as she watched him help Willow out of the mirror.

"What now?" Willow asked, as the four met up and climbed in Giles' car, where he'd waited patiently, knowing he'd stick out too much to be useful.

"Bronze," Xander said. "I believe it is time to shake my groove thing."

"Happily- I mean sadly, I have other commitments so I'll simply drop you off," Giles said suppressing a grin.

"What a coincidence," Angel said. "I also have 'things' to do," he lied badly.

"I am not a stripper," Xander said with a haughty sniff. "Groove thing is not a euphemism."

"I've seen the way you teens dance these days," Giles disagreed. "The only way you aren't shaking it, is if you found a way to leave it at home."

The group burst out laughing and even Angel was forced to smile a little.

"Actually I could use a mirror to displace it…" Xander said with a frown. "I can't think of a reason I would but using a pair of matched mirrors as a portal it could be done."

"So with a full body mirror on both sides of the shower you could wash your own back and all the hard to reach areas easily," Willow said.

"Also makes it easy to escape if someone attacks while you're in the shower," Xander agreed.

"Can you see out of normal mirrors?" Buffy asked suddenly.

"If I want," Xander replied. "All mirrors are portals into my realm."

"What about the Langoliers?" Willow asked.

"Langoliers?" Giles asked curiously, having read all of Stephen King's works.

"I mentioned the Bandersnatch and made comparisons to the Langoliers to make sure none of the kids from the club tried to sneak off," Xander explained.

"So it was all a fib?' Willow asked.

"Reflections can fade away over time," Xander said thoughtfully. "I've never stuck around long enough to see what happens, there are some dangers that you'd have to be insane to court."

"How long a time?" Willow asked.

Xander shrugged. "A lot of factors come into play, but it only happens to empty reflections and takes years, possibly decades."

"Can you just step out of any mirror?" Willow asked.

"Yes I can, however everyone else has to exit the mirror they entered from or risk getting lost in endless reflections, which can get Lovecraftian quickly," he explained. "That or use a mirror I've prepared or some other method only I know of."

"Umm," Willow wasn't sure how to ask.

Xander pulled out a silver pin shaped like a willow tree. "Tap it on a mirror and it'll become a temporary portal, as if I made it myself."

Willow squealed and hugged him before pinning it on her collar.

"We're here," Giles announced letting the teens out in front of the Bronze.

**Typing by: The Last Primarch!**

**AN: Yeah… there will be no traveling to occupied worlds or DC. I use the multiverse in a lot of fics, but this one ain't one of them. Wander off into the mirror dimension trying to reach another timeline and you'll be eaten by a Grue!**


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